THE SAL rOEESTS. 391 



fine spring kept the grass beautifully green. They saw 

 me before I was within shot, however, and retreated 

 into grass cover. Waiting a little, I got on the elephant, 

 and proceeded to beat the long grass ; and, after going 

 about a quarter of a mile, started the herd, which must 

 have contained fully thirty individuals. They dived 

 into a deepish hollow, filled with low brushwood, in 

 front of me, and I waited on the edge for their appear- 

 ance on the far side. Presently they clattered up in 

 single file, stags and does intermixed, the last of all 

 being a very large dark red stag, with beautiful antlers 

 that seemed almost to overpower him as he slowly 

 trotted up the rise. I had the sight of the double rifle 

 bearing full on his broad back, and was just touching 

 the trioraer when the man behind me seized and detained 

 my arm in a vice-like grasp. The moment was lost, 

 and I turned viciously on the culprit, who, however, 

 pointed silently to an object in a tree close to our 

 heads. It was a huge colony of bees — the terrible 

 Bonhrd, whose swarms had, a march or two before, 

 routed our whole following, leaving a good-sized baggage 

 pony dead upon the ground. Lucky it was I had not 

 fired, and I thought little of the lost stag in the hurry 

 to get out of so dangerous a vicinity. About half a 

 mile further on, near the river, a spotted doe leaped out 

 of a patch of grass, and scoured across the plain. It 

 was too tempting, she looked so round and fat ; and a 

 snap shot rolled her over, shot through the loins. We 

 were now not far from camp, and I was beating through 

 some longish grass, when a full, round countenance was 

 seen peering over the top of it at the advancing 

 elephant. I did not make it out for a while, and pre- 

 sently it disappeared, the motion of the grass showing 

 the progress of a large body towards the river. A little 



